Tag: spring

I love sitting in my house with a nice fire going and watching the snow falling outside.

Hello dear reader.

Today I decided I didn’t want to talk about pain or coping or anything to do with illness. I want to share my mountains with you.

I couldn’t tell you my favorite season here in the mountains. They’re all wonderful.

During the summer the temps usually top out in the mid 70’s. It’s a rare occurrence to hit 80 degrees. The wildflowers bloom everywhere. There are more colors than you can imagine.
Summertime is also tourist season. People come from all over the world to see, and sometimes hike, the mountains.

The trees at this altitude are pretty much all aspens and pines. In the autumn the mountains look like a patchwork quilt that changes every day.
The tourists start to thin out as the temperatures start to drop, but quite a few people come to see the aspens.

The aspens turn mostly gold, but also red and every shade in between.

Winter has a beauty all its own.

I love sitting in my house with a nice fire going and watching the snow falling outside. The tradition in my house (which started when my kids still lived at home) is the evening of the first real snowfall I make homemade hot chocolate. Things get quiet and peaceful.

Last but not least, springtime arrives. The snow starts to melt.

The trees begin to bud and the birds come back. I love hearing them sing when I wake up. We have a pair of doves that come every year. It’s easy to tell they’re the same ones from their markings. I can’t find my pictures of them, but I’ll show them to you when they come this year.

This is the most incredible place to live. I could go on and on about the wonderful town I live in, the festivals, how I came to be here, etc. But I’ll save those stories for another day.

Note: Most of these pictures are from Unsplash.com which allows free use of the tons of beautiful photography on its site. A couple of them were taken by Tim, who has a wonderful eye.

I don’t talk much in here about my spiritual beliefs. There are two reasons for that. The first is that I believe with all my heart that everyone’s beliefs are precious and have value. I don’t have the right to tell anyone what their spiritual beliefs should be. Secondly, my spirituality is always changing, growing, and sometimes waning. I’m still figuring some of it out.

That being said, I’ve always felt that Easter is a time of renewal, a new beginning. It’s a time to let go of the past, a time of forgiveness both for me and by me.

Whether you believe the traditional celebration of Easter, Jesus rising from the dead, or not, it’s still a time for celebration. It marks the end of the long, dark winter and the beginning of spring. It’s the time of new growth. Trees begin to bud, grass turns green, and flowers shyly poke their heads toward the sun.

We bought our house in the spring and soon noticed a tulip growing at the edge of the yard. It was off by itself, a single, beautiful, red flower. The next spring it bloomed with two flowers, which it’s done ever since. That tulip has always made me think of Easter. It spends a long time in the cold, dark ground, but manages to emerge full of beauty and color no matter how harsh the winter has been. It’s a rebirth, like Easter is.

There are times when I’m down for weeks, even months at a time. Depression sets in and tells me it will never end. Easter reminds me that no matter how long, dark, and hard that time is, eventually it will end.

I felt better yesterday than I have in a very long time. I had an excellent day. The pain was low and I had energy. I felt like I was me, rather than the pain which takes me over. I danced and celebrated (the dogs thought I had lost my mind). Easter came a day early for me.

The point? No matter how long, dark, and brutal the winter, Easter will come. Celebrate it when it does.